Local Campaigns Heat Up

With just weeks to go until Election Day on Tuesday November 2, local campaigns are heating up.

State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer has gone on the offensive with a new television commercial and large four-color mailer that calls her opponent Bob Cohen a slumlord and contends that he allowed drug dealers to operate on his property. The mailer says, “if we can’t trust him (Cohen) to keep drugs away from our kids, how can we possibly trust him to clean up Albany?”

The photos on the mailer depict crumbling buildings and an unflattering profile of Cohen, who many in Scarsdale know as a wonderful father, generous landlord and all-round good guy. According to Scarsdale resident Anne Lyons the mailer was “shocking,” and “the smear campaign is unproductive and detracts from a healthy discussion of the issues.”

In response to these charges, Cohen has released a new television commercial which you can see here.  An email from the Cohen campaign explains, “The fact is Bob Cohen has built a successful business improving neighborhoods,” said spokesman Josh Hills. “He buys old, decaying buildings that have been mismanaged and neglected, are not up to code, often arrears on taxes, and renovates them into safe homes for moderate-income families. The investments he makes in upgrades improve the properties, improve neighborhoods and create jobs. Senator Oppenheimer should be ashamed for stooping so low as to attack Bob for fixing pre-existing violations.”

In other campaign news, Cohen is airing a second commercial on local television, and held a gathering in Heathcote to greet friends and tell them more about his campaign.

In other campaign news, Cohen  is airing a second commercial on local television, and held a gathering in Heathcote to greet friends and tell them more about his campaign. On September 30th he held a press conference at the Galleria in White Plains to warn Westchester shoppers of a new clothing tax that is now in effect. Cohen charged Democrats with “swindling” Westchester taxpayers, and pledged to reverse the tax and spend policies of Senate Democrats and shelve the clothing tax.

The tax, that went into effect on October first in New York State, is a 4 percent sales tax on clothing and footwear costing $110 or less. According to Cohen, “This is yet another case where Albany’s career politicians are hurting New York families, and this tax represents only a fraction of the $4 billion in new taxes enacted in this year’s state budget. Families and small businesses across the state are cutting back, but over the last two years, Senator Oppenheimer and her allies in the Legislature have hiked income taxes, raised business taxes, eliminated STAR property tax relief checks, and increased fees on everything from motor vehicle registrations to fishing licenses. The clothing tax is particularly damaging because it impacts middle-class and low-income families the most, and hurts small retailers by driving commerce to other states.”

On September 28 Oppenheimer was endorsed by Choice Matters, a group that works to get pro-choice candidates elected and appointed at every level of government. In announcing the endorsement, Choice Matters President said, "Suzi Oppenheimer and Andrea Stewart-Cousins have spent their careers fighting for women’s reproductive freedom and—as some of you may know—freedom does not come cheap. We need these women! They have put their political capital on the line for us and now we need to make sure they are returned to the New York State Senate this November.”

Meanwhile, State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin who faces Republican Rene Atayan, has also been campaigning and updating her constituents on new legislation. Her bill to limit underage alcohol consumption and drinking and driving has been signed into law by Governor Paterson. The bill encourages bars and restaurants to have their servers participate in alcohol training awareness programs.

“The use of fake IDs can lead to underage drinking and drunk driving -- problems that can be devastating to a community,” said Assemblywoman Paulin. “These programs can help decrease alcohol-related incidents in New York by teaching employees, as well as bar and restaurant owners how to spot underage individuals while protecting their business.”

You can meet both candidates on Tuesday October 19 at 7:30 pm when the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale will host a Candidate's Forum in the Scott Room of the Scarsdale Public Library.

State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer and Republican nominee for State Senate Robert Cohen will attend as well as State Assemblywomen Amy Paulin and her challenger Rene Atayan.  Each candidate will make a brief statement and then they will answer questions posed by the League.